Time and time again, the feelings of depression and joy fluctuated like the wind. To feel dread was when she was upset. She could be angry or saddened by almost anything, serious or small, and I would still feel it. However, there were times in which the greatest empathy could not amount for the longevity of a grudge.
The wound is ancient. What had caused it is forever lost in the sands of time. However, that simple cut spread into a deep series of lacerations. Scars never formed for they were never given the opportunity, as they continued to be reopened again and again. It was a fruitless effort at best. One may not realize it, but others tend to forgive over time.
Not her.
Not her foe.
They did not simply allow things to fade. Monuments would crumble, mountains would reduce to rubble, but their hatred would burn longer than the sun. However, unlike the light, this was not bright. In fact, it was dimmer than the moon. Hatred without a reason is like slaughter for amusement. It was morally wrong and disgusting. Yet, under the right circumstances, it could be quite entertaining.
But the gods were not there to entertain. They were there to govern from above and below. As the Earth was born to spin, these two domains were born to hate each other.
My original purpose in this world was to provide darkness where light could not reach and to shell the Underworld from being crushed by a concaving Earth. After I met her, my purpose was to bring her the upmost happiness. She wanted a family, so I fathered her many children and gave her the tools to create beings without reproduction. She was happy, I was happy, life was simple then.
Then there was a dispute between the goddess of love, Aphrodite, and my lovely wife, Nyx, goddess of night.
For the immortality of me, I cannot remember what it was about. For all I know it could be about whom’s hair had looked better that day. It was eons ago. Elderly humans can barely remember what they were doing mere moments ago. An elderly god forgetting what happened before civilization discovered a bit of decency? A little credit would be appreciated.
But, such is no matter. This is not about my age; this is about Nyx and Aphrodite’s quarrel.
A little something to know offhand is Nyx’s history with gods of love. You see, before Aphrodite was born of my brother, Ouranus’s, genitals and sea-foam, there was Eros. No, not the little cherub that flutters around his mother with a little bow and arrow. This Eros is ancient and long since forgotten. He was all of which bonded humans together. He made it so that fighting did not consume all. However, that did not mean he was not a harbinger of chaos himself. He had amused himself by toying with my dear Nyx’s emotions. We (Nyx and I, that is) believe it was his fading existence which provided that sea-foam in which the she-devil was formed from.
Anyway, that is merely a tidbit of information good to keep in the back pocket to understand, perhaps, a bit of an ulterior motive.
As what is common when two people are at odds with each other, every action is an annoyance. Every time they thirst of a bit of water, hunger for a little food... Breath… It causes uproar in the mind of the opponent.
How dare that person do such common things as if the world is their slave! They would think. As amusing as this may be to sound, it is a truth. One should not be so quick to judge. I do it, and you are far beneath me, which implies you do it even more frequently.
Nyx and Aphrodite spread this hatred onto each other’s children and eventually their grandchildren. Lineage was not spared from the wrath of their predecessors. Any descendant of Aphrodite, god, demigod, other creature, was not spared the Night’s wrath, and vice-versa.
However, this is a quarrel that has taken a step too far. You see, my son, Thanatos, had produced a demigod daughter. That girl, unaware of who Nyx and I even are, broke an unwritten code that caused Nyx to lose her mind; she had fallen in love with a son of the minor Eros, making him the grandson of Aphrodite.
Nyx had gone out of her way to devise a plot to kill the boy and give the girl another partner that was not tainted by the love goddess.
I question to this day why Nyx hates the child so much. Naturally, the boy was quite stupid. He did not deserve happiness, but he would inevitably destroy himself without the interference of a god. But Nyx is so passionate about family, but now, she seems to care more about fueling her ancient hatred than recognizing those who love her.
She was lost in spite. But, who am I to try and stop her? I am her eternally loyal husband. I have been at her side for eons. If I showed my passions to her, I would only anger her more. I am at a conundrum. My passions have clashed with my obligation. I love her and I want her to be happy. Her hatred towards one has drawn hatred from others. Even our own family is turning against her. They had all been negatively influenced or treated by her anger at one point or another.
If only I could open her eyes for a moment to show her what she has done. But even if I did pry the lids apart with my own hands, her eyes would blind. She wanted her revenge, she loved her revenge. She loves revenge more than she loves me, I sometimes lament to myself.
Yet, my tongue is forever tied down by my duty as her life’s other. I cannot go against her wishes, even if it is to save her from herself. I can only hope that perhaps, one day, she too would see reason as I do and repent for all she had done.
That day is a long ways away. I doubt it will ever come.